The Vitals

My name is Kristin. I live with my husband (A.), three young sons (Cubby, Charlie, and Jack), one infant daughter (Poppy), and old collie dog (Mia) less than a mile from the Canadian border in the far northern woods of upstate New York. Once upon a time I was going country. Now I'm gone.

Friday, August 5, 2016

Tomorrow we load A.'s trailer with the beds and a bookcase and the rugs and some other miscellaneous stuff that won't fit in the van, and off we go to the north country. Where we will unload it all with three children scurrying around. And then I have to unpack and find places for it all.

I'd better make sure the ibuprofen is in a very accessible spot. And the gin may ride shotgun with me tomorrow, just to make sure I don't lose it in all the chaos, you see. I think I'm gonna need it.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

The floor covering of choice at Blackrock is Oriental rugs. Partially this is because the house pre-dates wall-to-wall carpeting by about a century, and partially because A.'s family lived in Saudi Arabia for a few years and accumulated a good stock of rugs there. In any case, every single room in the house has Oriental rugs covering the wood floors. I even contributed a couple several years ago.

Even the kids' rooms have Oriental rugs, because there are so many rugs in the house and some have been here for so long that they're in pretty bad condition. Which of course makes them perfect for kids' rooms, because you pretty much want anything in contact with small children to be disposable in some way.

Anyway.

Our new house has no Oriental rugs. But it does have laminate wood flooring everywhere. This makes for an unfortunate echo effect that makes me want to pull my hair out. Three screaming children in an echo-y house is no good. The first thing I determined to get into that house were rugs to absorb sound, and lots of 'em.

I knew there were a few rugs at Blackrock (like the aforementioned worn-out ones in the kids' rooms) that could be borrowed without affecting the overall collection at Blackrock. I was pretty sure there were some extras in the attic in Addy's room. So today I crawled into the very back of that attic and started pulling out Oriental rugs.

Do you know how heavy those sumbitches are? They're thick, woven 100% wool. They are heavy. I dragged out four before my back gave out. There are still at least four more in there. That's eight total Oriental rugs just shoved out of sight in the back of an attic. I think if I were to walk through the house and count them all up, there would be around 36 Oriental rugs of varying sizes.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Okay! The first whirlwind trip to the new house has been accomplished, with only minor meltdowns from Charlie in the car on the way there and back. (It's always, ALWAYS Charlie when it comes to meltdowns in the car.)

The landlady told A. she was relieved to have such a nice family in the house. Score one for the collared shirts! I'll do my best to keep our nice family from wrecking the joint in the next year, but . . . well, we may have to fix a few things before we leave. Hopefully nothing too involved or expensive.

The new house has a really not-good steep staircase connecting the main living area with the downstairs where the kids are going to be sleeping, which is not ideal in the case of our intrepid small toddler. That particular small toddler is also going to be sleeping in the utility room, so he seems to have gotten the short end of the stick in this particular house.

The high porch, however, is pretty great for early-morning blueberry breakfasts from a measuring cup.

Incidentally, measuring cups are excellent receptacles for a small child's snack, what with that handle and all. Still learning six years and three kids into this parenting gig.

Cubby and Charlie enjoyed finding their own red raspberries and blackberries in the ubiquitous wild bushes that line the perimeter of the mowed areas of the property.

This is the view from the aforementioned porch and those teeeeny little dots in the bushes just to the left of center are Cubby and Jack grazing on raspberries.

The kids seem quite excited about their new home. A. is similarly enthusiastic, particularly after seeing sign for fishers, mink, deer, and plenty of other exciting animals that can be hunted, trapped, fished, and otherwise harvested in a satisfyingly mountain man fashion.

We're back at Blackrock this week to see some visiting family, and then we'll return north on Saturday. Our internet service isn't supposed to be installed until the following Friday, but I'll try to update here when I can. Because I'm sure your lives are all barren and sad without the randomness that I specialize in here on this unknown site.

Sunday, July 31, 2016

In just a couple of hours, the Family Blackrock will be in the minivan and off to a place that is not Blackrock, but will be our new home.

It's about a five-hour drive. I'm not looking forward to the long drive for obvious reasons that I can spell out for you if want me to: Cubby, Charlie, and Jack.

Earplugs might be a good idea.

Anyway.

We're meeting our landlady at our furnished rental house so she can give us the keys, show me around, and make sure we're not a pack of feral animals that's going to destroy her home and its furnishings. A. is the only one of the family she's met so far. It's going to be my job, apparently, to reassure her that only three-fifths of us are feral, and that I have control over those rogue elements of the family that might, say, kick a hole in the wall above the bed (Charlie).

Obviously, any impression of control I might give is illusory, but I'm still dressing the kids in collared shirts and khakis, because I can at least make an effort to make a good first impression.

Honestly, though, I'll be happy if they're not shrieking hysterically when we all pile out of the van after the long drive.